This morning’s Times of India, under its regular column, “Last Word” quoted “ I dislike referring to them as dogs or my pets. This is because they are a part of me, my family and they share my every joy and sorrow. They understand me completely and there is such a big bond, such a rapport that I share with them that it moves me beyond words. Salman Khan on his two pet dogs, Myson and Myjaan, on his blog.”
Just two days ago a friend of mine came over to have lunch with us and to spend some time with us. We had not met for some time and I enquired about his son and daughter in law who were in Mumbai. He brought me up to date and told me that they have moved back to Pune with both of them getting good jobs here. He further told me that he was rather stumped with their life style as they have taken a very big loan and bought a three-bed room flat. On my expressing amazement, he continued that they now had two dogs and a dog handler who was needed to look after the dogs and so the two extra rooms were for the dogs and the handler. His daughter in law has grown up with dogs as pets in her maternal home, and she simply cannot be without dogs in her home!
We have four mongrels living in our housing society. They have adopted us and nothing that we do gets rid of them. Quite how they survive is anyone’s guess. They do not harm any body and bark at everything and any body strange coming into the society’s compound. Some Good Samaritan had taken them to the blue cross and got them neutered and I am told that this is a humane way of treating stray dogs. My query as to how they could be humanely made to shut up in the nights when they seem to take delight in non-stop barking for hours together, in concert with other stray dogs, is yet to be answered by the do gooding animal lovers.
I wonder if either Salman Khan or my friend’s daughter in law, can come up with some solution. I certainly intend asking the latter when I next meet her.